


You didn't mean to break their hearts

by HufflepuffKat



Series: Tales of Svalinn and why she needs some serious therapy [2]
Category: Overlord - Maruyama Kugane & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Mental Health Issues, Poor living conditions, This was meant to be a oneshot but oops, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-10-26 07:16:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17741351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HufflepuffKat/pseuds/HufflepuffKat
Summary: This was meant to be a oneshot but oopsie.Set before The Happy Farm and after the Bar scene, Svalinn gets teleported back to IRL and the secrets that she so desperately wanted to forget get revealed all at once.BIG SHOUTOUT TO Kensalyn and Download007! This only got written because of a conversation I had with those lovelies. But double so with Kensalyn, since this was very loosely base of her own story!





	1. Welcome to the real world, it sucks

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kensalyn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kensalyn/gifts), [Download077](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Download077/gifts).



Despite feeling completely out of it, felt you felt an odd sense of security as Demiurge guided you back to your room from the bar. It was strange. You were pretty sure that you weren’t drunk, but your head was swimming with befuddlement. It was quite similar to that time you had that status effect, ‘Confusion’, but you could still think, it was just like your head was full of water.

Demiurge was frowning. So, you knew that he knew that something was wrong. Which was _just **great**_. He had already seen you get all emotional about the others leaving, and now he would be even more worried. He was going to think that you were _useless_ and was going to _hate_ you.

Suddenly your sense of balance went sideways, and you fell over to the left, just managing to catch yourself on the wall with your arm.

“My lady!?” You hear Demiurge shout and gently grasp your shoulder the same time your world begins to spin into white. 

* * *

 

You opened your eyes to find yourself back in your apartment and the smell of smoke. _Smoke!_ You rushed to take off your dive gear and pull of the power point. Your heart slowly settled. You had got the thing second hand, and it did this all the times, so you were used to it.

Wait a second.

**_You were back in your apartment._ **

A realization that you didn’t get enough time to reflect on, as your thoughts were interrupted by an extremely concerned and terrified voice.

“Svalinn-sama?! Where are you?!”

That was Demiurge. Just two meters away from you. In IRL. You really wished you had the time to take this in, but the demon wasn’t giving you any chances. He sent a disgusted look in your direction before shouting again.

“Svalinn-sama!? Svalinn-sama?! Can you hear me?!”

You shrank back into your chair and hid within yourself. You knew you should say something to calm him down, but he was _shouting,_ and you were so small and tiny and, and…

“You there! Where am I? What did you do to bring me here?” The demon grasped your shoulder voice filled with a raging fire, and you gasped in pain and held back your tears.

You were a lot more fragile in the real world. In more ways than one. Being sent back _here_ so suddenly felt worse than a bad dream.

“We-welcome to IRL, Demiurge.” You stuttered out, the fear in your voice half-heartedly masked with humour.

Demiurge froze solid. Your instincts took the wheel and you caged your head within your arms.

“Svalinn-sama?” Demiurge’s voice trembled. “Svalinn-sama, what happened to your arms?!”

He was, of course, referring to the ancient scars on the backs of your forearms. They were a pale which spiderwebbed from your wrist to a few inches above your elbow.

_Plishilshk! A vase collided with your fragile, tiny arms. A wail in pain._

You shivered at the memory. “The scars are old.”

You couldn’t tell Demiurge how. Not when you couldn’t even tell yourself the truth. You kept your head down, unable to look Demiurge in the eyes.

“I—Forgive me, my lady.” Demiurge apologized. “What is this place.”

He was referring to the trash pile which could be referred to as your apartment. It wasn’t a trash pile because you were untidy – though you would prefer if that were the case instead – but because it could barely be referred to as the bare necessities of living.

For one thing, it was very small, only one 4x5-meter room, you had to share a bathroom with everyone else in the building. You were sitting at your corner desk on the side of the room closest to the door. While he, just two meters away, was in what you called your ‘kitchen’, I single bench with a microwave on it, which you also used as your ‘dining room’ table, and a cupboard. In the space between your kitchen and your desk was your rubbish bin. You didn’t have a wardrobe, so you just had a clothes rack against the wall opposite your door. In the corner opposite your desk was your worn-down bed, which had a lingering stench from the garbage that you found it in five years ago. At the foot of your bed was an old minibar that you had bought of a hotel which had been running out of business, which you were using as your fridge. Next to the minibar leaning against the wall was your only mode of transport; a bicycle which you rode to save money from the train. Next to the bike was probably the newest thing that you owned, your only pair of shoes, which you had bought three months ago.

You had spent hours upon hours scrubbing every nook and cranny of the room, and yet old stains still lingered from previous tenants. There were no windows, so mold was constantly growing on the parts of the wall that were in line with the plumbing. You were just glad that the wooden floors hadn’t begun to rot in these conditions, so you didn’t mind the roaches that popped out from the floorboards every now and then – you had even made a game of them, pretending that they were Kyouhukou’s minions checking up on you.

“I live here.” Was your quiet response. You heard a quiet gasp in shock.

“But these – but this is no place for a Supreme Being! It is unworthy of you!” Demiurge appeared to be in a state of denial, and you merely shrugged in response.

You were holding out better than you expected. You usually would have run by now. You did feel faint though. What was the time? 12:15. Oh. You also had a shift the night before the transfer, didn’t you? So, this was what… How many hours of solid consciousness? Wait no, you vaguely remember having a nap when you got back… It was hard to remember, it was all so long ago, like another lifetime.

It didn’t really matter. The fact was that you were dead tired right now, and it at least seemed like Demiurge wasn’t going to murder you in your sleep.

“Sorry, Demiurge. I know this must be a huge disappointment for you, and you probably want answers, and I kinda do as well, but right now this body needs some sleep. You go take the bed, I’m sorry about the smell but it's all I got to offer. I’ll take the floor.” You explained before yawning.

“My lady, I couldn’t possibly-!” You stop him mid-sentence with a raised hand, you slowly got up from your wheelie chair.

“Hold that thought.” You said, before promptly passing out. 

* * *

 

You woke up a familiar bed with a familiar smell. Groggily you sat up while your eyes were still closed. Was that all a dream? And what did you mean by ‘that’? The new world with all the guardians coming to life or going back home. Realisation hit you. That smell… You were on your bed. Your shoulders sagged. You should have known, anything that good would never happen to someone like you.

“My lady, good morning. I apologise for not following your instructions and moving you to the bed, but I couldn’t have possibly allowed myself to sleep on your bed while you slept on the floor! Especially when I have been gifted a ring of sustenance to that I may serve my supreme beings tirelessly. Why I cannot even bear the thought of what Ulbert-sama would…”

You didn’t listen to the rest. What? That sounded like… You opened your eyes and saw Demiurge kneeling by your bedside, continuing his list of apologies and excuses.

So, it turned out that none of that was a dream.

 _Fuck_.

You jolted out of your bed. Your foot got caught in your blankets. Falling. You closed your eyes in acceptance. You never reached the floor. Because Demiurge caught you. Now that you thought about it, wasn’t this a really common trope in amateur books? Pffft, that was silly.

“My lady are you alright?” Demiurge asked, putting you down gently.

“Ye-yeah. I’m fine.” You stuttered, a heavy blush warming your face. You blinked. Quick, quick, this was awkward, you needed to find something to change topic, _now_.

“So, um, you probably have a lot of questions, don’t you?” You asked, and Demiurge smiled dazzlingly. _Fuck he’s hot_. That blush on your face just wasn’t going away, was it?

“As expected of a Supreme Being! Thank you, Svalinn-sama! I have many, but I’m certain that with your wisdom, all shall be made clear!” He said with more enthusiasm than usual, which was mildly freak since you didn’t even know that was possible.

You smiled weakly and opened your mouth to speak when you stomach made a loud rumbling sound. You habitually looked down and rolled your shoulders forward.

“Per-perhaps I shall answer them over breakfast?” Fear struck your soul like a bolt of lightning. You slowly peered up, “Do you – do you want anything?”

“My lady you need not worry about my undeserving self, my ring of sustenance means that I do not need to eat or sleep,” Demiurge answered easily, hand over his heart.

It pained you to accept it, but his words were a relief beyond measure. As much as it pained you with guilt, you couldn’t be your usual stubborn self and order him to eat. You didn’t know how long you would be here – you didn’t even know if you could get back to Nazarick at all! – and you couldn’t afford an extra mouth to feed. Not when you were already cutting meals.

You groggily waddled over to the cupboard and squeaked open its door. Your shoulders dropped as you saw its contents. It was too cruel, being given a taste of a comfortable living in Nazarick just to be sucked back here.

“Ramen for breakfast it is.” You hummed, pulling one of your three remaining cup ramen and the three plastic bottles that you had been refilling with your work’s kitchen sink for months. You sighed as you poured a calculated amount into the ramen cup and put it into the microwave. You knew that it was dangerous to cook ramen this way, but you had been saving up for a kettle a while now, and after your next royalty check, you should be able to get a replacement for the one that broke a month ago.

 _How much money did you have again?_ You pondered, thinking of the two ramen cups left in the cupboard. That’s right, 7500 yen. You were lucky that your night shift job offered you meals, so that meant you had at least one meal six days a week. If you skipped lunch, you would be able to last tomorrow and the day after without having to buy more food. You could technically add a day to that if you drank your remaining milk tomorrow... that made three days after today. Your next paycheck from the night shift would be coming on Friday if you remembered correctly, and today was Monday. Today you would probably have to go to the corner store and get two more cups, which would cost around 700 yen.

Ping!

You hadn’t even realised how far you had spiralled into your thoughts when the microwave went off, startling you. You sent a glance towards Demiurge who was watching you with mild intrigue and let out a nervous chuckle. You pulled out your ramen cup and moved back to sit on the bed.

“Sit.” You ordered, pointing at the wheelie chair at your desk. Demiurge bowed and sat elegantly on the chair, looking at you expectantly, you took a deep breath.

“So, before we begin, I feel like I should explain some things up front. Firstly, I have no clue how I’m back here, and have even less of a clue how you’re here – that’s… usually not allowed.”

You closed your eyes in a grimace as you sipped at the ramen cup, before opening them slightly to eye your security guard uniform that hung on the rack to your right. You were pretty sure that you had left your chopsticks in there, but you didn’t feel like searching the pockets in front of Demiurge.

“Look,” You made sure to look Demiurge in the eye, “if anyone finds out that I brought you here, we’re both going to be in big trouble, so we need to make sure that you look like you’re from here.” It was the truth, sure, there was no law against bringing video game characters to life, but even you knew that the greedy megacorporations of the world would like to dissect both of you if they got their grubby hands on the truth.

“Which leads to my next point, which will probably answer one of your questions. Unlike the two worlds you have been in, there only exists one race here, and that’s humanity. The creatures of IRL do not have magic but rather advanced technology.”

Demiurge’s crystal eyes glinted, “Ah, I see! That is ingenious!” You didn’t understand what he was talking about, probably some inner meaning or reasoning behind this reveal, but you didn’t want to question him on it. You were probably flipping his entire world view upside down, whatever it took to keep him afloat and not drowning in the seas of insanity you would just have to accept.

“My third and final point is, that the powers that you know the other supreme beings and I had over creation is not considered that special to most people in this world.” You sighed, “Some would even say that it is a waste of time.”

You shrugged and raised your left hand to gesture at the room.

“And that’s why I live in this dump. I am really sorry that I am not all that you expected me to be.” You said, looking down sadly.

“My lady!” Demiurge gasped in horror, “Please do not say such a thing! No matter your standing in this world, you will always be my Supreme Being! Your very existence shall always give me awe! It is I that needs to work hard to meet your expectations, rather than the other way around!”

His words stunned you. You couldn’t help but chuckle.

“So, do you have any questions?” You ask.


	2. If only you had the time...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As much as you would like to stay with Demiurge, you have things to do and not much time.

Explaining the rest to Demiurge was remarkably easy, it seemed that yours of training in manipulating the truth was coming in handy again. You felt bad about it, but answering Demiurge’s questions completely honestly would end up causing problems.

You wondered if it was just the two of you that popped back into IRL? Would Ainz be here? Your eyes widened. You could send him an email!

You barged between Demiurge and started up your computer. Come on, come on! The computer itself was pretty old and as such was really slow to load. The login screen popped up and filled your heart with relief as you lowered your fingers to type in your password.

Then your eyes flickered over the time.

3:30pm.

 _Fuck._ You had to be at work by 5 pm. _How long did Demiurge let you sleep?_ You had to go to the corner store and back before you head out to your work too, as you weren’t supposed to be wearing your uniform for non-work related purposes.

“I’ve gotta go.” You say as you come to the sudden realisation. You scramble to grab your bag and your bike when you see Demiurge watching you with concerned confusion.

You can’t just leave him here like this! But you can’t bring the demon with you either… An idea popped into your head as you dived back to your desk as you scrambled to find your copy of _‘Demons’ fall; From the pit’_.

You turned back to face Demiurge, “Here, take this! It's my first book, Ulbert liked it so it should keep you busy for now. I’m so so sorry about this, bye!”

Before he could reply you were already out the door and down a flight of stairs, dragging your bike with you. The process of bringing a bike down three flights of stairs for most, but you had practice and determination on your side! In a time that would beat most people running down the stairs, you were down and out of the building, peddling down the street like your very life.

When you reached the corner store you screeched the brakes and turned into the small shop, wasting no time as your bike slowly came to a stop and you slid off.

Most store owners would be appalled at the sight of someone bringing their bike into their store, furious if they had been riding it, but upon seeing your face, the elderly Yada smiled sincerely.

“Ahh, it's you! From last week. I must thank you, girl, for getting those hooligans to leave, whatever you said to them, they haven’t come back.” Yada’s words make you blink in confusion before you remembered what he was talking about. A faint smile grew on your face, a slight semblance of the amusement and disappointment you felt in the memory.

“Glad to help, Yada-san,” You replied, grabbing at the discount ramen, “if they do show up again I want you to tell me, okay?”

You plopped the items on the counter in front of him, smiling cheekily, “I’ll teach them a lesson next time.”

Yada’s wrinkled face scrunched as he scanned your items and the total flashed on the register. You reached into your bag and pulled out your money to pay, and offered it to him.

Yada hesitated before taking the coins.

“I worry about you girl.” He looked up at you with haunted eyes, “I have seen many kids who had it rough as you get involved in those types. Sometimes they came back, most of the time they don’t. I hope you haven’t gotten yourself in any trouble for these old bones.”

You shook your head, your smile now strained “I’m not in any trouble Yada-san. The world is tough, but I always make sure to keep myself on the right side of the law.”

Yada-san frowned as he handed back your change and bagged goods. “You know, that only makes me worry more. The bad kids get dead, but the good kids… they get lost.”

You smile dropped at his double meaning as you took the change and tied the bag to your bike. You sadly knew what he was talking about all too well. You took your bike and lead it to the door.

“I’ll take care of myself, Yada-san. I promise.”

“You better!”

Your mood now dropped, you decided to walk your bike the first half of the way back instead of racing it. Yada didn’t know how right he was, but he also didn’t know much about you. You felt like an imposter, even though you really hadn’t done anything wrong.

Passing by an alleyway, you hear a shout.

“Stop right there you two!” it was a gruff voice. Some poor people were getting mugged. This happened a lot in your neighbourhood. You had learned that the best thing to do was ignore it.

So why did you look into the alley?

You saw the two poor fools that were getting mugged were particularly short, and although all you could see was their silhouettes, you knew in an instant that they were just kids.

_Just kids._

Damn, your greatest weakness.

Gently leaning your bike against the wall of the alley, you reached down to grab a loose brick. Your twig-like arm seemingly defying the rules of physics as you lifted the heavy thing.

You were already thinking up your game plan. Through the brick, call the kids over. If the thug was stupid enough to follow them you could pull your bike out as a barricade. Then… then…

Your brain stopped working when you saw the ground itself split open underneath the thug and swallow him whole. Your jaw dropped. That was… that was…

 _Magic_. That was just like magic.

“Mare, Aura? Is that you?” You called out into the alley.

The two figures jumped when you spoke, and turned towards you, their silhouettes becoming a lot more familiar.

“Svalinn-sama?” You heard Aura’s familiar voice as the two ran towards you.

“Svalinn-sama!!” The two had tears in their eyes as they ran up to you and you instinctually pulled them into a hug.

“Shhhh, shhh, it’s okay, I’m here.” You whispered soothingly.

What were they doing here? _How_ were they here? Does this mean that the others were here? How many of the NPCs had Once again, questions begin to pop up in your mind and you wished again that you had sent that email.

You slowly let go of the two, and they blinked when they saw that you were in a different human form.

“S-S-Svalinn-sama, what-what happened to you?” Mare asked timidly.

“It’s- It’s a long story, and I’m sorry but I don’t have much time, can you come with me and perhaps Demiurge can tell you.” You tilted your head towards your apartment building a block away.

The two twins nodded.

Aura looked up with you with curious eyes.

“You said Demiurge could tell us?” She asked.

You nodded, “Yeah, he was with me when we arrived here.”

Aura smiled, “I’m glad! At least you had someone to protect you! But why did you leave him behind?”

It was an innocent enough question, but it drowned your heart with guilt. Leaving Demiurge stuck in that room was just cruel, and you were going to have to do it again, this time with the twins. They were going to hate you for this, and you deserved it.

“I… I might explain when we get back...”

“Okay!”

When you got back to your apartment building, you began the gruelling task of carrying your bike up the stairs. Began being the keyword here, as Aura saw what you were doing and wasting no time in taking the bike out of hands and carrying it like it weighs less than a sheet of cardboard.

“Let me take this for you, Svalinn-sama!” Aura smiled brightly, while your brain slowly came to the realisation of _just_ how much stronger the NPCs were compared to humans.

Climbing the stairs this fast _almost_ made up for all the time you wasted, so you figured that before leaving for work, you could at least give the twins a decent explanation as to what was going on.

“This is IRL, and this… is where I live.” You explained glumly as you opened the door to your apartment. Demiurge was already halfway through your book, which was unbelievable, considering that it was over 700 pages and you had only been out for fifty minutes.

He looked up with joy when he heard you walk in, and his smile only widened when he saw the twins with you.

“Unbelievable! No, as expected of a Supreme Being!” Did he… did he think that you had left the apartment to find the twins? You… you didn’t have the heart or energy to tell him he was wrong.

“You… live here?” Aura asked, her sad eyes staring into your soul, crushing it. No-no-no! You didn’t want to make the twins sad! Mare, were those tears?

You nodded, not trusting your voice under the pressure. You resorted to your default method of solving your problems; avoiding them. You looked back to Demiurge.

“I-I-I have to go for work, I haven’t been able to explain everything to them, would you mind?” You asked.

“Not at all, my lady.” Demiurge nodded, “But, my lady, if you don’t mind me asking, what is your job?”

You swallowed, “I’m the night-shift security guard for this bank.”

Demiurge nodded, a small smirk filling his features. You wondered why… eh, never mind, you had to get changed in the apartment’s bathroom. You plopped the bag of Ramen and plopped it on your bed. It irritated you that it wasn’t in its place, but you couldn’t afford to be late.

You grabbed your uniform.

“My lady, why are you leaving us behind?” Aura asked.

Demiurge frowned, “Aura! Svalinn-sama could get in trouble if she is caught with us.”

Aura narrowed her eyes, “I would crush anyone who-”

As much as you wanted to, you couldn’t say for this fight, you gave a small wave to Mare and you stepped out. Mare waved back before you closed the door and ran.


	3. The pity train of 'help'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You go to work. Fate has never been kind to you and it won't start now.

You made it to work on time, but at what price? Would it even be worth it? You knew full well in your head that with Demiurge on the playing field, you might very well find yourself back in Nazarick before the end of the week. You also knew that because you didn’t know how you were back here, your thoughts on going back to Nazarick were probably nothing more than a desperate dream.

But desperate dreams were always prevalent while working in this place.

You scooped up every last individual grain of rice on your work provided dinner. A thought popped up in your mind. Did the twins have Rings of Sustenance? Did you have it in you to eat in front of them if the did? Or worse, could you afford to feed them if you didn’t?

It didn’t matter the answer, you would have to find a way to manage. You _refused_ to let them fall into an orphanage’s hands. As a last resort, you would even let Kenzo take them before letting them go there.

Picking up your tray and taking it to the tray return, the doors swoosh open and closed behind you as the hairs on your back raised. Oh no.

“Ah, look who's here. I’m surprised you're awake enough to show up after last night, then again, I guess you wouldn’t be able to afford to skip work.” The snide voice of your co-worker, Tamaki, behind you. Your shoulders went slack, but you kept your face neutral as you just listened to him go on, “Look, I know you’re disappointed to see the game go, but really, you should see this as the golden second chance it is! Now you won't have the temptation to waste your valuable money on such an irresponsible addiction.”

Words like that could come easily from someone like Takaki. He didn’t necessarily have it easy, but if you could you would switch places with him in a heartbeat. He was one of six children that were living in his parent’s house. He only had to pay half what you did in terms of rent to live there in a room that was ten times better than yours ever would be and didn’t need to worry about the cost of meals. He had never had to put himself in your position, never had to consider what it would be like to spend all day in your decaying apartment with nothing much to do. To desperately desire an escape from your hellish reality. He had enough leftover cash to save up and eventually rent a decent place of his own, but that would only ever be a dream to you.

You turned around and gave him a weak smile, “Yeah, I guess your right.” Making him grin like he was some kind of hero for solving your problems. You held back a sigh.

You idly wondered if Demiurge would have been okay with hearing Tamaki speak to you like this. You realised that it was a stupid question, of course, he wouldn’t, he barely even tolerated his own attitude. You felt a small piece of satisfaction in knowing that you had made the right decision in not trying harder to bring Demiurge and the others with you to work.

Tamaki then noticed the time on the clock, “Well, it’s time for us to go to work! Today I’m watching the cams with you.”

_Yaaaaaaaay._

You walked to the monitor room with Tamaki, mostly just pretending to listen to his rambling, your mind firmly planted back to your apartment. Would the three of them be okay? This shift was going to last another eight hours, it would be well into the next day before you came back, what if they thought something had happened to you and freak out?

Not to mention, there wasn’t much to do in your dreadful room. You hadn’t even given them permission to use the computer – not that they would know how to use it. You could only imagine the three of them sitting around staring at the walls with dead eyes. 

* * *

 

“Svalinn-sama wrote this?!” Aura looked up at Demiurge with sparkles in her eyes, Mare also peered at the book with immense curiosity.

Demiurge nodded with a sense of pride, having already finished Svalinn-sama’s first book and found her second book on her desk where she had kept her first. Demiurge had given Svalinn-sama’s residence an inspection and found Svalinn-sama’s organizational skills to be outstanding, of course, such a thing would only be natural of a supreme being! Because of her clear organization, Demiurge had been able to confidently store the items that Svalinn-sama had purchased while she had been looking for the two dark elf twins.

“That is correct. My creator Ulbert-sama was very fond of this series as well, and I can see why, Svalinn-sama’s work is truly exquisite! She truly delves into some interesting philosophical themes.”

Aura blinked up with a lack of understanding, before smiling down at the book in her hands.

Mare spoke up timidly, “Are you s-sure i-it’s okay for us to read this?”

Demiurge hesitated, this was Svalinn-sama’s personal copy, and she hadn’t exactly given the _twins_ permission to read. Fortunately, Demiurge remembered his creator’s wise words.

_“How could you have not read the Devil’s Fall series, Momonga?!... I don’t care! Everyone should read it!”_

Well, if his creator decreed it, Demiurge must do his best to bring his lord’s wishes into fruition!

“Yes, however, I advise you be careful not to damage it,” Demiurge answered carefully, his creator’s wish certainly didn’t make damaging a supreme being’s property less of a sin.

“Of course!” Aura exclaimed before the twins dived into reading with absolute fascination. How kind, Svalinn-sama was, leaving them with these books! 

* * *

 

You knew that they probably would refuse to fault you for it, but the energetic twins would certainly hate this. You would have to find a way to make it up to them.

You swiped your key card at the door and Tamaki barge in front of you to take his preferred wheelie chair. You took a deep breath before taking the other chair. Despite being eager to be the first one seated, Tamaki wasn’t eager enough to be the one to start up the monitors and had left that task for you.

You reached out across the desk to start turning them on. You knew this was going to be a long night. 

* * *

 

Your eyes screaming at you with a desire to be closed, you felt relief when you saw the clock tick over to read 8:00 am. The day staff had arrived half an hour ago, but you still were not allowed to leave until that specific time and the bank doors had opened.

Side glancing at Tamaki, who was leaning back on his chair, drooling in his sleep you sighed, before shaking his shoulder gently. He had fallen asleep around midnight, removing your right to take your bathroom break.

He did this often because he knew you had a no-snitching policy. But just because you refused to tell on his lazy ass, didn’t mean you like it.

Tamaki groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. His head slowly looked over his surroundings and you kept your practised fake half-smile. You didn’t like this jerk, but orphanage life tells you many things, and one of them was not to make enemies when you don’t have too.

Tamaki finally blinked with awareness and gave you a thankful grin, “Thanks for keeping watch for us, you’re a true pal!”

“Sure thing.” You hid the displeasure in your voice with a well-placed yawn.

“Tired eh? Well, I guess that won't be as much of a problem now that you won't be staying up late playing stupid games.” Tamaki’s amused tone really ground on your nerves.

_The ONLY reason you aren’t tired is that you slept through the majority of your shift!_

“Yeah… I should get going…. So I can catch up on lost sleep…” You desperately wanted an out.

Tamaki ruffled your hair, and you flinched at the unwanted contact.

“Yeah, go ahead!”

Like you needed his permission. 

* * *

 

The street was crowded from the daily rush to the train stations, so you had to walk your bike through the crowd. Not that you minded too much usually, its just you were really anxious to get back home today, so you were moving at a faster pace than normal.

You bike suddenly jolted and slammed into you, the weight sending you falling over to your left, and you felt your shoulder collide with someone.

The pavement stung, and your right wrist had been twisted at a bad angle. You numbly took notice of the pot-hole in the pavement, which must have been what jostled your bike.

“HOW DARE YOU TOUCH-” A familiar voice screeched before it was suddenly silenced. You froze solid. Was that-? No, it couldn’t be. Coincidences like this just didn’t happen like this.

A soft, male voice spoke from your left, “I’m sorry! Are- are you alright?”

Your bike was lifted off you and a hand was offered to you. You didn’t take it and got up by yourself. You felt an ache in your stomach. Yeah, you were definitely going to feel this tomorrow.

You looked over the man who had lifted your bike and was hesitantly pulling his hand away. He was ordinary enough. Short brown hair, slightly older than you, skinny and looking at you with bewilderment. Yeah, this was what you thought Momonga would look like if you met him IRL.

“YOU-” The female voice screeched, and you turned to face her. Your jaw dropped. That was Albedo alright. She was wearing a beanie, probably to hide her horns, but since you already knew they were there, it wasn’t hard for you to recognise their shape. You also noted that she was wearing civilian clothes. New. Not too surprising, you had heard that Momonga had a full-time job IRL.

“Albedo!” The man silenced her again, confirming once and for all that he was, in fact, Momonga. Albedo’s eyes widened and became apologetic, but she wasn’t looking at you, but him.

She was really pretty, you had to admit.

“Again, I am so, so, sorry!” Momonga said, and you turned your attention back to him, your jaw still dropped. “I’m Suzuki Satoru, may I ask what your name is?”

You numbly gave it to him. You weren’t really thinking much. This was just too much after your fateful meeting with the twins yesterday.

“(Y/N) (L/N)… I feel like I have heard that name before…” Suzuki mumbled. This brought you back to attention.

You couldn’t let him know it was you! He was the last person in YGGDRASIL you wanted to know about you IRL life… He was exactly the type to give you an unreasonable amount of pity. He would want to _help_ you.

But. But you realised that it was probably far too late to stop him. Ulbert, dear Ulbert, had sung your name to the hills when he had found out your IRL identity. It was just a matter of time.

Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad. He would certainly more room than you. The twins would be happier staying with him.

“Um…” You decided that it would be best to see how this goes. No use trying to avoid it. “Maybe you have read one of my books?” You asked innocently enough, although you still sort of hoped that he would drop the topic and go away, forgetting that he had seen you.

“Book…” Suzuki mumbled eyes narrowed in thought before they suddenly widened. Well… there goes your hopes and dreams. “… Svalinn?”

You sagged, “Yep, it’s me.”

“But…” He seemed at a loss for words. “Ulbert said that you were a famous writer…” Great… he was already pointing out your obvious poverty-ridden conditions. “And… your arms… what happened?”

Wow. Two for two. You already saw where the rest of today was going. So much for catching up on lost sleep…

“Perhaps it would be best if we talk about this at my place?” You offered, hoping for a chance to prepare your answers.

“Sure,” Suzuki nodded, “I’ll just skip work today.”

You turned to Albedo who was more shocked than he was.

“Sva-Sva-Svalinn-sama?” Oh fuck. She was crying.

It seemed that everyone was hopping on the ‘Pity Svalinn-sama’ train, even though you wanted off three stops ago.


	4. Friends, Family, Contacts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We need to find the others, luckily, you know someone who might be able to help!

You were done. Your secret exposed. Even Albedo had jumped on the pity train and had taken your bike to carry in what felt like an uncharacteristic gesture. You were not so daft that you didn’t sense her lingering resentment. You were hoping that resentment would prevent her from entering the pity train, but where Momonga goes, so does she.

This further cemented your theory that the universe just hated you.

You missed not being able to see Suzuki’s face. It was a crucial level of communication that you lack and put you in a state of ignorant bliss. Was his gaze always so… so _worried_. His eyes will haunt you forever now. Like a puppy’s eyes.

Things got worse when you got closer to your apartment. Suzuki, as always, got jumpy. And Albedo’s lips tightened into a frown. As you had noticed when you first met them, Albedo was wearing brand new clothes and Suzuki was wearing what must have been his work clothes. In your part of Tokyo… that drew attention. Your neighbours were giving them cautious glances, and you knew from personal experience that they were just scared. People in good clothes here tended to be one of two things. Officials from the mega-corporations or the government, or successful gangsters.

Suzuki and Albedo didn’t have your experience, so they didn’t know this. You could tell they were guarded from how their muscles had tightened. They had read the gazes as hostile, and while that wasn’t exactly false it was nerve-wracking on your end. One stupid idiot could make Albedo erupt, and you wouldn’t have a clue how to deal with it.

“My lady, forgive me for questioning you, but,” Albedo said in a disgusted tone, “there must be another way of reaching your residence? Walking amongst such trash-”

“No.” You interrupted. If these people were trash, so were you.

“Besides, you can already see my building from here.”

Albedo looked around, confused. You chewed up on your lip as you knew exactly why. She was probably looking for a decent building, but yours blended with all the others. They were all old and worn down, some, like yours were also technically deemed unsafe.

You decided to put an end to her confusion by pointing up ahead to the place that you called ‘home’.

“Oh, Svalinn…” You heard Suzuki mutter.

Damn him. 

* * *

 

You opened the door, and three pairs of eyes looked up at you excitedly. You numbly noticed that the twins were reading your third and latest book and Demiurge was… well, you weren’t sure. Staring off into space? Once again you found yourself unable to care. You were both physically and emotionally exhausted.

“Svalinn-sama!” Demiurge got up and bowed, the twins jumping up from their spots on the ground as well. Then they noticed the people behind you.

Demiurge narrowed his eyes for a second at Suzuki, but then looked between him and Albedo before gasping.

“Amazing!”

You sighed. At this point, you just wanted to get today over with. You stepped aside from the door and gestured for Albedo and Suzuki to enter.

“Welcome to my very humble abode, I would offer you something to drink, but all I have are some plastic bottles that I have been reusing for months and have never cleaned. As you can see, Demiurge, Aura and Mare are here. You can also probably see that I don’t have enough chairs for everyone. You can all decide amongst yourself who gets to sit where, feel free to share my bed as a chair, I will be sitting on the floor.” You dulled out.

Demiurge panicked. “Svalinn-sama, I must protest! How can we guardians allow you to sit on the floor while you so graciously offer your furniture for us?!”

“I acknowledge and consider your protest. I am still sitting on the floor.” You plop down and take a brief moment to rub your eyes. The moment passed, and you nodded your head in apology. “I’m sorry. I have almost been awake for twenty-four hours and while that isn’t new for me, my night shift was with Tamaki who fell asleep and deprived me of my break. I also have a feeling that I won’t be getting any sleep today. Makes me a little… irritated?”

“Hey, hey! It’s okay!” Suzuki waved his hands defensively. He had been given the chair, you look to your left and see that Albedo and a very unpleased Demiurge sitting on your bed. That left… You blinked, not believing that you hadn’t noticed that the twins were sitting either side of you.

“I just…” He mumbled, cheeks going red, “I still have a few questions.”

You shrugged, “Go ahead.”

You were beginning to suspect that your brief moment rubbing your eyes might have been a microsleep. The usually only popped up after a full forty-eight hours of no sleep, but with your consistent lack of sleep for months made them almost normal for you. You only even knew what it was called because your security job made it an effort to remind you even if it was a microsleep, they would still fire you or your co-workers sleeping they’d fire you on the spot. Yet, even more, a reason Takaki owes you big time.

You suspected the microsleep purely because Aura wasn’t angry with how the strange human man was talking to you. You weren’t saying she was stupid, but Aura wasn’t a genius like Demiurge, and unlike Mare, she was more likely to be outwardly aggressive with these kinds of things.

“You arms?” He asked again.

“I have had them as long as I can remember.” You said, a little humour in your voice.

“I meant your scars.” His tone was less awkward, more serious.

“… Can I please pass on that one?” You said uncomfortably. You couldn’t answer that one with six pairs of eyes on you.

“Eh, yeah, of course…” You realised that Suzuki was a lot less invasive IRL. You weren’t sure if you liked that. “Then… Aren’t you some writer?”

“Yes.”

“Ulbert’s favourite writer?”

“Yes.”

There was a long silence. You stare Suzuki dead in the eye and he opens and closes his mouth as he struggles to find the right words for the worlds most obvious question. Just wanting this over with, you put him out of his misery.

“Just because my books are Ulbert’s favourite, doesn’t they are anyone else’s. There are thousands of writers in the world, as for as the world is concerned, I’m just another.”

“Your books are our favourite!” Aura insisted, clutching your third book to her chest. Your third book… Wait, doesn’t your second have very graphic violence!

You spun your head to Demiurge, with the intention of telling him off, but when you saw his glowing face nodding you just couldn’t. A warmth you didn’t quite recognise filled your chest. You turned back to Aura and ruffled her hair.

“And even when my books do sell, I don’t get much in terms of profit. The publishing company screwed me over.” A glance at Demiurge’s red face was a quick indication of what he might say next. You recognised that face and you certainly didn’t want to explain again why you really didn’t want someone to lead an organised attack against you publishing company, so you spoke quickly “My turn for a question, do you know how we got here?”

Suzuki shifted, and his cheeks glowed red.

“Yeah…”

You raised an eyebrow. “Go on.”

“I made a mistake when casting [Greater Gate]. I got… distracted. I wondered what the floor guardians would think about IRL and well… I think I pulled you and all the floor guardians with me.”

You couldn’t help but smile widely. “That means we can get back!”

Suzuki scratched the back of his head, “Yeah, but I suspect that we’re not the only ones here, and we’d need to find them, besides we’d need Shalltear to cast it.”

A smug grin took over your face, “I have been thinking about that. Considering that all of us ended up in Tokyo, I think it would be a good guess to say the others are in Tokyo too.”

Suzuki gawked, “That doesn’t help much! Tokyo is huge! Even if we searched ever street it would take so long that we still not find them! And it’s not like we have forever either if the government of some company finds them-”

You chuckled, making him stop mid-sentence and stare at you like you had grown a second head.

“No need to worry Momonga, I’ve got that one covered. I have a… contact that happens to have eyes all over Tokyo.” You got up and stretched. If you had a possible way back there was no reason to hold back any punches. You could handle another twenty-four hours of consciousness.

You grabbed your casual outfit and head to the door. You paused and turned back to the others.

“I’m just going to get changed really quick, get ready to go out to the darker parts of town. It’s about time I visited Saiki. By the way, I go by the name <y/n> in this world if that wasn’t already clear.” 

* * *

 

When Svalinn said that they’d be going to the darkest parts of time, Suzuki didn’t know that she meant that literally. She had taken them to gap – it certainly couldn’t be called an alley, as it was only a meter wide – between two skyscrapers. As much as Suzuki squinted, he could barely see three meters in.

Svalinn approached the gap without hesitation, thought Demiurge stopped her.

“My lady, perhaps it would be best if the twins and I took the front, while Albedo takes the back. It would better protect our supreme beings.” Demiurge asked, almost desperately. Svalinn was so fragile in this human form, and he sensed danger in there.

Svalinn-sama frowned and shook her head, “Do that for Ainz if you must, but to avoid trouble, I have to take the front.” And before either of the twins could object she stepped into the darkness.

Take defensive positions around Momonga-sama they did. Albedo frowned as she stayed close to her love. She wished she knew what was going through Svalinn-sama’s mind. She couldn’t help but drop her resentment for her lady. She just… so different. It was impossible to think of Svalinn-sama as a threat to Momonga-sama when she was so short and thin.

After a few minutes into the alley, Suzuki regained his sight as the distance between the buildings increased. His eyes widened. There was a large rectangular gap between four surrounding skyscrapers, and it was swarming with thugs and had tents and sheds lining the edges. Suzuki had heard rumours that Tokyo had a secret criminal underground, but he had no idea that it was so organized or a place that one could visit.

But it wasn’t a place you could just visit. As soon as the six of them were in sight four thugs that had been slacking of by the entrance came to attention and pointed their guns at them. The guardians tensed and eyed their poor fragile lady, wondering how they might get her behind them. Demiurge knew this was a bad idea, as his lady’s escort, he was ashamed, he should have done something.

Svalinn-sama actually didn’t seem phased. One of the insects shouted something at them, but the guardians didn’t listen and their lady didn’t reply, she only looked through the crowd.

Suddenly, “Hey idiot! Your new guys are pointing your guns at me!” Svalinn-sama shouted.

A man that was better dressed than the other insects turned to attention and frowned, “Oi! Back off on ‘em!”

The thugs flinched and lowered their weapons, but kept their eyes on them, especially over Svalinn-sama. Demiurge felt the rising temptation to relieve them from their eyes.

The man approached their lady, scratching the back of his head.

“Sorry boss.”

Boss?! Suzuki internally shrieked. He couldn’t believe it, was Svalinn actually in charge here? Was he friends with the head of the criminal underground?

Svalinn frowned, “Who are you calling boss?”

Apparently not.

The man raised his hands, “Sorry, sorry!”

Svalinn just shook her head and turned back to the guardians and Suzuki, “This is Saiki,” she said bluntly, annoyance dripping from her tone.

In a turn of events, the man leaned on Svalinn-sama in a side hug and ruffled her hair, “So what brings my dear onee-chan to visit? Could it be that these people are causing you trouble?”

Big… Sister? The Guardians were almost shocked into a state of paralysis if it weren’t for the guards from earlier picking up on some queue and turning their guns on them and Ainz-sama. The twins stepped closer together and Albedo jumped in front of her love. Demiurge opened his mouth to use his command mantra to give these insects a lesson when Svalinn snapped and elbowed Saiki.

“No! Put those guns away!”

Saiki gave another wave and the thugs once again lowered their weapons, this time, they relaxed and went back to slacking off.

This time, Saiki addressed the guardians. “Sorry about that, sis tends to get herself in a lot of trouble and doesn’t necessarily ask for help. Me and my boys once caught her being taken away by some loan sharks.” Saiki’s face darkened, “I don’t like to think about what might have happened to her if we weren’t there.”

Svalinn glared at Saiki, “I told you I would pay back the favour.”

Saiki sighed, “And I told you that you didn’t need to. Look, everyone in the underground knows that you’re my sister, and it would ruin the reputation that I have worked long and hard for if I let ya die. Consider it you doing _me_ a favour, ‘cause I got to remind people what happens when you mess with me and my crew.”

Although the things he was hearing were terrible, Suzuki couldn’t help but feel relieved that Svalinn was just as stubborn here as in YGGDRASIL. Still…

“Sva- <y/n>, I thought you told me you didn’t have any siblings,” Suzuki asked, and Saiki gasped and brought his hand to his heart in mock pain,

“I’m hurt!”

Svalinn shook her head and turned back to him, “He’s not my brother, by his method of thinking, I would have hundreds of siblings.”

“That’s not true! You know that you and I were different than the others at the orphanage! We had a bond! Remember, you saved my skin, and taught me everything I know.” Saiki looked down at Svalinn with pleading eyes.

That was a lot of information, and Suzuki was having trouble absorbing it all. One thing did stand out though.

“Orphanage?!”

Saiki blinked, before scratching the back of his head again, “I forgot that onee-sama doesn’t like talking about-”

“We need help finding a couple of people.” Svalinn interrupted and brought the conversation to the intended topic. Saiki’s jovial attitude dropped and he turned into all business.

“What do they look like?”

“The first is a short woman with white hair, wearing aristocratic clothes, very thin but a lot of cleavage. She also looks like a child, but at the same time, not a child.” Svalinn explained short and to the point.

Saiki blinked, “That sounds a lot like that girl in Wakatsuki’s bar that one of the boys mentioned earlier. They say she just blinked in out of nowhere and started drinking and hasn’t left in two days. I thought they were just drunk but…” Saiki gave the guardians another, more careful look over, especially the twins. “That other person happen to be a big blue monster?”

Svalinn frowned but nodded.

“Cut your losses, sorry sis, but I have heard a rumour that a creature of that description was rounded up by the government.”

“I can’t do that, he’s my friend.” Svalinn shook her head firmly.

“Sis, I can’t deal with the government, we’re… we’re not strong enough for that yet.” Saiki apologized.

“If I may,” Demiurge interjected, “we can take care of that, we just need to know where the insects are keeping him.”

Saiki blinked, but once he realised that Demiurge was being serious, he shook his head and chuckled, “Insects? I like that. I personally don’t know, but our little computer genius Yui might be able to find out, I’ll go get her.”

Saiki dashed back into the crowd. Now that the boss was gone, traffic began to ease back closer, some people scooting past the group to leave. The tallest human Suzuki has ever seen approached them, and he would say that he put the guardians on guard, but they never really eased up. He was big and muscular and had many visible scars.

“Well hey, shorty!” He chuckled in greeting. Demiurge frowned, how could his lady tolerate such disrespect!?

“Kuroime! You been looking after our idiot?” Svalinn asked with a smile.

“Yes, ma’am! But he hasn’t made it easy.” He replied.

“Never does.”

“You could always help me, you know. We’d take care of you, and you could get out of that shitty apartment.”

Svalinn frowned, “Kuroime, you know-”

“That you don’t wanna get involved in crime, yeah, yeah, you’d be great though.”

A man bumped into Suzuki and Albedo made a move to summon her axe, Suzuki quickly hushed her down and when he turned back to apologize to the poor man Svalinn was already by his side.

“Oi!” She got the man’s attention, before swiftly punching him in the stomach. “Give my friend his wallet back!”

When the man straightened up he looked like he was about to hit back when Kuroime grabbed him by the shoulder.

“You heard the lady.” The man flinched, “That’s right kid, give back the wallet and leave before I tell the boss you’ve been pickpocketing his sister’s guests.” The man dropped the wallet and raced out.

“I’m not his sister,” Svalinn said.

“Yes, you are.” Kuroime said back, he looked up before grumbling, “Little shits. Sorry, I gotta go, the idiots have set fire to one of the tents, again.” Before he sped of into the crowd.

“Kuroime is-is a funny name," Mare pointed out.

Svalinn chuckled, “That’s because it's not his real name, it’s a nickname he got in prison.”

“Prison?” Suzuki blurted out in shock.

Svalinn gave him an odd look, “Is that really so surprising, in case you haven’t guessed, this is the criminal underground.”

Suzuki sighed, she was right. “Yeah, I guess not, just… why’d he go to prison?” Despite all of their time in the new world and YGGDRASIL, it was hard for Suzuki to process the idea that he had just talked to a convicted criminal in this world, even harder to grasp the idea of talking to a convicted murder.

“Shoplifting, he got thirty years,” Svalinn replied sadly. That’s right, the system was harsh and unjust, the rich could pay their way out of prison, and the poor got incredibly unreasonable sentences.

Saiki returned and startled them from their thoughts.

“Yui is being Yui and refusing to leave her computer to tell you herself, but she did you one better, not only do we have the where but,” Saiki raised a sheet of paper, “she got the layout of the building.”


End file.
